# How can I dry my tobacco?



## GlassEye

My tobacco is far too moist to smoke right now because the ambient humidity is around 80 in my house and it has been raining for about week, so it is getting worse. The tobacco feels wet in my fingers when I take a pinch of it. I can only get through about half of a bowl because it is so moist.
I have read about putting some in the microwave or oven, but I don't really want to try that. I tried using a fan to dry some but that didn't help at all.

My question is how can I dry some tobacco to pack my bowl? ipe:


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## drastic_quench

Try setting your oven to 150 degrees or so. That should dry up the air in the oven after a bit. Then you can shut it off, load the tobacco and let it rest in the cooling oven until it's at the right moisture level.


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## GlassEye

drastic_quench said:


> Try setting your oven to 150 degrees or so. That should dry up the air in the oven after a bit. Then you can shut it off, load the tobacco and let it rest in the cooling oven until it's at the right moisture level.


I'll try this when I get a chance. Thanks.

Any other methods anyone?


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## Mr.Lordi

Put it on a piece of paper, put the paper under a lamp.

the heat from the lamp should dry it. 


You could try a hair dryer, but it has to be on a low setting and you have to do it somewhere, where the tobacco won't blow away on you, which is hard to do. I've lost tobacco this way, not the bet method.


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## ultramag

GlassEye said:


> Any other methods anyone?


It usually works pretty well and is quite simple to set it under a desk lamp. :2


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## GlassEye

ultramag said:


> It usually works pretty well and is quite simple to set it under a desk lamp. :2


I am going to try this now, thanks. I will post back with results.


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## GlassEye

I left a small bowls amount of Frog Morton (sample from MarkC, thanks) under my lamp for about 45 mins. It now feels just right for smoking, thanks to all for the suggestions. I will have to see if this works for a sample of an aro I got from a local B&M that is nearly impossible to even light. :llama:


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## Hermit

*Another vote for the desk lamp on a sheet of paper.*
Only takes a few minutes.
The microwave doesn't sound like a great
idea to me, but I haven't tried it.


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## commonsenseman

All good suggestions so far. I've tried using my toaster oven, do it on a VERY low setting though, otherwise you'll end up with dust like.....umm.....some guy I know who tried it........

I usually set some tobacco on a peice of paper next to my laptop fan, 20 minutes later give or take, I'm ready to go.


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## RJpuffs

Funny thing, this moisture issue. I have to mention this ...

Usually, I'm a climate control freak. Either AC or Heat - any which way I keep my large butt at a comfy 70* and 50% RH. It keeps my few guitars happy which is originally why I started getting nutty about RH at home (at work its a tad drier usually 30% to 40%). Normally I leave baccy in the unsealed/reclosed tin for a couple of weeks - its usually ready to smoke right out the tin (ROTT?). Some damper blends I may air out for 15 odd minutes, either desktop or preloaded into a pipe (overnight usually).

Now the funny part. Last year I made a couple of trips out to the Far East. For those who don't know what a "monsoon" is, its rain or humidity, every day, all day, for months. Its was always humid and hotter'n hell, talk about a sauna. AC indoors of course, but I had to exit premises to puff the pipe. The baccy I had taken (Escudo and HOTW) were sealed tins that I opened on arrival, they had zero air-in time. Over time they both were soggy, it was HUMID out there. But - every time, perfect smokes. No gurlgles, no soggy dottle. I didn't even have to run a pipe cleaner through during the smoke (a worry since I only had one pack with me, and no one there seemed to have seen a smoking pipe let alone a pipe cleaner). It was truly bizzare.

Smoking style was exactly the same, just the climate was hot and sticky out. But the baccy seemed not to mind at all. I don't get it, on hot humid days in NY I end up having to swab out a couple of pipe cleaners worth of goop for each smoke, regardless of how dry the baccy was.


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## phatmax

RJpuffs said:


> Funny thing, this moisture issue. I have to mention this ...
> 
> Usually, I'm a climate control freak. Either AC or Heat - any which way I keep my large butt at a comfy 70* and 50% RH. It keeps my few guitars happy which is originally why I started getting nutty about RH at home (at work its a tad drier usually 30% to 40%). Normally I leave baccy in the unsealed/reclosed tin for a couple of weeks - its usually ready to smoke right out the tin (ROTT?). Some damper blends I may air out for 15 odd minutes, either desktop or preloaded into a pipe (overnight usually).
> 
> Now the funny part. Last year I made a couple of trips out to the Far East. For those who don't know what a "monsoon" is, its rain or humidity, every day, all day, for months. Its was always humid and hotter'n hell, talk about a sauna. AC indoors of course, but I had to exit premises to puff the pipe. The baccy I had taken (Escudo and HOTW) were sealed tins that I opened on arrival, they had zero air-in time. Over time they both were soggy, it was HUMID out there. But - every time, perfect smokes. No gurlgles, no soggy dottle. I didn't even have to run a pipe cleaner through during the smoke (a worry since I only had one pack with me, and no one there seemed to have seen a smoking pipe let alone a pipe cleaner). It was truly bizzare.
> 
> Smoking style was exactly the same, just the climate was hot and sticky out. But the baccy seemed not to mind at all. I don't get it, on hot humid days in NY I end up having to swab out a couple of pipe cleaners worth of goop for each smoke, regardless of how dry the baccy was.


Temperature and Humidity of the ambient air versus Dew Point and ability for water to condense inside the pipe?

Anyone on here a weatherman / thermodynamics guru?


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## Mad Hatter

I use the microwave for about 20 seconds or I put a pan on the stove until the bottom of the pan starts to warm, turn off the heat, drop in the tobacco, shake around like mom used to do popcorn. Either way its dry and smokable in a couple minutes


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## Jack Straw

I sometimes do the microwave when I'm feeling impatient but sometimes it changes the flavor if I leave it in for more than 5 seconds. My failsafe is to get the laptop warmed up and put the tobacco by the exhaust fan, dries out very quickly, with the combination of moving air and gentle heat.


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## Steel Talon

If you have a gas oven try putting some tobacco on a plate and set it in the oven overnight w/o turning it on I imagine the pilot lite will provide a warm enough environment to dry it out a bit. Or you could always turn the temp up a bit.


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## RJpuffs

Steel Talon said:


> If you have a gas oven try putting some tobacco on a plate and set it in the oven overnight w/o turning it on I imagine the pilot lite will provide a warm enough environment to dry it out a bit. Or you could always turn the temp up a bit.


New (computerized) gas ovens don't have pilot lights anymore. Wife used to do that trick to get yeast to rise in the old days.


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## Mad Hatter

Jack Straw said:


> I sometimes do the microwave when I'm feeling impatient but sometimes it changes the flavor if I leave it in for more than 5 seconds. My failsafe is to get the laptop warmed up and put the tobacco by the exhaust fan, dries out very quickly, with the combination of moving air and gentle heat.


I learned that one from some of the guys on SF. Since my pain killers retard my taste for subtleties it doesn't matter much anyway, but mostly they insist it doesn't change the flavor. As for me, I'm in agreeance with you, but to each their own.


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## drastic_quench

RJpuffs said:


> New (computerized) gas ovens don't have pilot lights anymore. Wife used to do that trick to get yeast to rise in the old days.


For rising dough, I put the dough in an oven that's off, but place a pan of boiling water on the rack below it for 30 minutes.


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## RJpuffs

drastic_quench said:


> For rising dough, I put the dough in an oven that's off, but place a pan of boiling water on the rack below it for 30 minutes.


ooooh, she's gonna love that, thanks :tea:


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## keccy

hi, im new to pipe tobacco but what i've found to work is to put tobacco in a paper box (origami style) under an oil heather, my house is very humid, water dripping of the window, and mold on the walls kind of humid.
the key is to put it under the heater, so the hot air raises as well has the water vapor. Like that it doesn't get to hot and the vapor does not condense on the tabaco (i have heard that just after you heat tabacco, the vapor that releases from the leaves condenses and sticks to the tabaco making it more wet). I never had this problem.

im new to this so take it with a gran of salt , i dont know how the heat is going to affect flavor because i just stared smoking so getting flavor at all is good to me. but i asume that you sholdnt heat it to mush to soon , it may alter the taste (chemistry and stuff).


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## Gigmaster

Just take out what you want to smoke, place it on a paper towel and leave it out to dry for 30 minutes or so before smoking it. Getting it too dry changes the flavor, as does toasting it in the oven.


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## Piper

keccy said:


> hi, im new to pipe tobacco but what i've found to work is to put tobacco in a paper box (origami style) under an oil heather, my house is very humid, water dripping of the window, and mold on the walls kind of humid.
> the key is to put it under the heater, so the hot air raises as well has the water vapor. Like that it doesn't get to hot and the vapor does not condense on the tabaco (i have heard that just after you heat tabacco, the vapor that releases from the leaves condenses and sticks to the tabaco making it more wet). I never had this problem.
> 
> im new to this so take it with a gran of salt , i dont know how the heat is going to affect flavor because i just stared smoking so getting flavor at all is good to me. but i asume that you sholdnt heat it to mush to soon , it may alter the taste (chemistry and stuff).


Welcome to Puff @keccy and thank for posting. Tell us about yourself on the pipe intro forum so we can greet you properly. :smile2:


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